A Fayette County man who was found guilty of third-degree murder for hitting his wife with a car was sentenced Monday to the maximum prison term of 20 to 40 years.

State police said 47-year-old Ronald Higinbotham ran over 30-year-old Carmen Higinbotham on Route 40 in Menallen Township in June 2009. Prosecutors said the two were having marital problems, and friends said she planned to leave him.

Advertisement

Police said the Brownsville man told them that the car hit his wife accidentally after she punched him and jumped out of the moving vehicle, but they said they could not replicate that scenario using crash dummies and other techniques.

Channel 4 Action News' Ashlie Hardway reported that a recording of Ronald Higinbotham's 911 call was introduced as evidence in his trial.

Video: Hear The 911 Call

On the call, he said, "This is Mr. Higinbotham. We was coming from a party. My wife jumped out of the (expletive) car, she punched me in the face and (expletive) and I was like, told her to calm down, it's OK, and she jumped out of the (expletive) car and, and I, I think I ran her over and, I don't know."

Police asked Higinbotham if he was "100 percent sure" that he hit his wife with the car. He responded, "I think I did. I think my wheel caught her. I don't know, sir. I don't know if she went under my wheel or what."

At the trial, police testified that the woman's blood and hair were found under Higinbotham's green Hyundai Tiburon.

State police said Ronald Higinbotham's extended family adopted Carmen as a child, so the two had known each other from a young age. Eventually, they married and raised children together and ran a care home.

On the 911 call, he talked about some problems that they were having in the marriage: "OK, she cheated on me and stuff, and we had some problems in the past. She just (expletive) flipped out on me. We went to this party. She wanted to go to this hula party. I'm like OK, it's cool, we'll go. We went. I tried to do the American thing. I got kids to her. I'm trying to do the right thing."